Environmental Permits
What is an Environmental Permit?
Apply for an Environmental Permit
Annual Subsistence Charge and Compliance Inspection
Environmental Permits
Some activities have the potential to release pollution to land, water and air. The pollution can pose a health risk to people as well as damaging the environment. Under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 (the Regulations), businesses engaged in such activities are required to hold environmental permits. It is an offence to operate without a permit.
The framework is divided into three categories, namely Part A1, Part A2 and Part B.
- Part A1 activities, known as Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), are regulated by the Environment Agency.
- Part A2 activities, known as Local Authority Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control (LA-IPPC), are regulated by local authorities (London Borough Council of Hounslow).
- Part B activities, known as Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC), are also regulated by local authorities (London Borough Council of Hounslow).
Part A1 Permits
Part A1 Permits control activities with a range of environmental impacts and are regulated by the Environment Agency. These involve:
- Emissions to air, land and water
- Energy efficiency
- Waste reduction
- Raw materials consumption
- Noise, vibration and heat
- Accident prevention
These are generally larger and more polluting industries, such as landfill sites, metal production and processing, power stations and chemical and mineral industries.
Part A2 Permits
Part A2 Permits control a variety of industrial emission, as in Part A1, but these are generally smaller scale than the Part A1 processes, such as glass-making, refining gas galvanising, animal carcass incineration, rendering, ceramics and roadstone coating.
Part B Permits
Part B Permits control activities which have the potential to cause air pollution, such as dry cleaning, vehicle respraying, furniture manufacture, unloading of petrol at petrol stations and concrete batching.
You may wish to check if you need an environmental permit. Full details of what activities require a permit can be found in Schedule 1 of the Regulations.
What is an Environmental Permit?
An environmental permit will contain legally binding conditions that aim to minimise pollution from these activities, which may include monitoring emissions, using abatement methods, maintaining equipment, handling of materials and keeping records. These conditions are based on the use of ‘Best Available Techniques’ (BAT) published by the government's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). They aim to strike a balance between the costs to the operator and the benefits to the environment.
The conditions must be adhered to and which will be assessed through routine inspections of the activities by the regulator. Non-compliance with the conditions can result in a range of actions by the regulator, from warning letters to prosecution. The role of the regulator is to issue Part A(2) and Part B permits and ensure that the requirements of the permits are complied with.
Apply for an Environmental Permit
If you would like to apply for a permit, please contact us on landquality@hounslow.gov.uk with details of the proposed activity and location.
We will send you an application form and details of the application fee. Your application will be determined within 4 months (although usually much faster), therefore please ensure this time scale is taken into consideration for your planning.
Please note applications will be subject to an application fee and annual subsistence charge. The application fee is to cover the costs incurred by the regulator to process the application and prepare a permit for the activity being undertaken, and the annual subsistence charge is intended to cover the costs associated with regulatory duties, including inspections of the premises and permit administration. The scale of these fees and charges are set and reviewed annually by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Annual Subsistence Charge and Compliance Inspection
Once an environmental permit has been issued to a business, regular compliance inspections are carried out to verifying that permit conditions are consistently met and that the business operates in an environmentally responsible manner. A risk rating score is calculated by one of our officers during their inspection.
The annual subsistence charge and inspection frequency are determined by a business's risk rating score. Businesses with a higher score pay more and face more frequent inspections than those with a lower score.
It is important to note that failing to pay the legally required annual subsistence charge may lead to the regulator revoking the permit. In such cases, operators have no right of appeal. Permit revocation makes it unlawful to continue the activity, exposing operators to potential prosecution.
Permit Variation
If the operator decides to make a change in operation, they must notify the regulator at least 14 days in advance. A change in operation means 'a change in the nature and functioning, or an extension of the installation which may have consequences for the environment'. It could entail either technical alterations or modifications in operational or management practices, including changes to raw materials or fuels used.
If the proposed change requires any environmental permit conditions to be varied, an application for a variation will have to be made. It should be noted that failure to notify the regulator of relevant changes may be deemed an offence under the regulations.
To request an application form for a variation or if you have any doubt over whether a particular change is substantial, please contact us on landquality@hounslow.gov.uk
Permit Transfer
A permit can be transferred from one holder to another for normal business transactions. Before a permit can be wholly or partially transferred, a joint application to transfer the permit must be made by both the existing and proposed holders prior to the new operator operating the activity.
To request an application form or for further information, please contact us on landquality@hounslow.gov.uk
Permit Surrender
An operator can make an application to surrender their permit, this may because the activity has ceased to operate or because the activity has reduced to a size where it no longer falls under the scope of the regulations. It is important to know that if the permit is not surrendered, the operator/permit holder may be liable for the annual subsistence charge for the next financial year.
It should also be noted that some permits may contain conditions relevant to permit surrender where certain actions must be taken before the regulator will accept the surrender application. This is particularly relevant to Part A2 activities, where perhaps a site condition report may be required to demonstrate that these activities have not led to further contamination of the land where they occurred or the surrounding areas.
To request an application form for permit surrender or for further advice, please contact us on landquality@hounslow.gov.uk
Permit Revocation
The regulator may revoke a permit if it considers that the permit no longer required. This could be because the business no longer operates, the level of activity has dropped to a level such that a permit is no longer required, or it could be because the operator has failed to pay the necessary annual subsistence fees.
Further guidance
Environmental permitting guidance: Core guidance
- Comprehensive help for those operating, regulating or interested in facilities that are covered by the Environmental Permitting regulations
Local Authority Pollution Control: general guidance manual
- How local authorities can issue permits to businesses that produce pollution and regulate those business premises.
Local Air Pollution Prevention and Control (LAPPC): process guidance notes
- Statutory process guidance (PG) notes on best available techniques (BAT) for the main sectors regulated to control their air emissions (‘Part B’ activities).
Integrated pollution prevention and control: sector guidance notes
- Statutory guidance notes on best available techniques (BAT) for sectors regulated under integrated pollution prevention and control - 'Part A(2)’ activities.
